NSW bar slams federal push to reinstate Queen's Counsel title

By Michaela Whitbourn

March 12, 2014 — 3.00am

The Sydney bar is resisting a national push to reintroduce the title of Queen’s Counsel for senior practitioners, with one silk labelling arguments in favour of the move ‘‘ridiculous’’ and ‘‘disingenuous’’.

Senior counsel Bruce McClintock, who has acted for high-profile clients including Gina Rinehart, said the Queen’s Counsel title was ‘‘dishonest’’ and should not be reinstated in NSW.

George Brandis is critical of the NSW bar.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

‘‘In what sense are QCs...counsel of, to or for Elizabeth II? We are actually senior counsel,’’ he said.

He said arguments in favour of the change were ‘‘disingenuous and mask a reactionary political agenda, as is obvious from the fact that people like the Queensland Attorney-General [Jarrod Bleijie] support them’’.

Advertisement

The title has already been reintroduced in Queensland and Victoria, more than a decade after it was abandoned and replaced with the non-royalist Senior Counsel (SC).

Federal Attorney-General George Brandis said on Saturday the federal government would follow their lead and give Commonwealth SCs the option of calling themselves QCs.

He criticised the NSW bar as a ‘‘bastion of Keating-era republican sentiment’’ for bucking the trend and said Western Australia was considering the change, while Tasmania and South Australia would likely fall into line after a change of government.

Former Liberal Attorney-General Tom Hughes, QC, said it was ‘‘highly desirable’’ for the NSW bar to reinstate the title to ‘‘mark out those members of the bar who are really worthwhile using in important cases’’. Sydney silk Alexander Street said Senator Brandis, ‘‘who I hold in the highest regard, has paid a great tribute to the NSW bar as there is no greater compliment for an advocate than to be described as Keatingesque’’.

‘‘We are indeed a bastion of republicans, some of us leaning to the right, some to the left, but all of us serving the rule of law with fierce independence,’’ he said.

He said the institution of SC should continue for as long as it continued to serve the public interest.

There are 67 QCs practising in NSW, the last of which was appointed in late 1992. There are a further 300 SCs and a total of 2217 practising barristers.The NSW Bar Association is seeking comment from members on whether NSW should adopt the Victorian model, where SCs have the option applying for recognition as a QC. There is no choice under the Queensland system.

In NSW, SCs would continue to be appointed by a committee comprising barristers and independent representatives. Those SCs who wanted to be called QC would have to apply for ‘‘letters patent’’ on the NSW Attorney-General’s invitation.

A spokeswoman for Attorney-General Greg Smith said: ‘‘If the Bar Association asked for the change on behalf of a majority of its members, the Attorney-General would consider it.’’